Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself
by Kel6
Summary: It’s impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There’s only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. 4th in the Nothing Is Impossib
1. Chapter 1

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
It was a freezing cold day, although no snow: just frost. James had been outside on his broom in the morning, practising Quidditch maneuvers, but it hadn't been long before he headed inside, shivering, to make himself a hot drink and sit in front of the fire.  
  
It was the Christmas holidays. He had been glad to get home from school to see his parents, and to get away from. everything: his work, his responsibilities, his friends.  
  
He was looking forward to seeing Remus and Peter again. They would be coming to his house after Christmas. But it was still nice to have some time to think. And Sirius. he didn't even want to think about Sirius.  
  
Of course, he could hardly think of anything but Sirius. Or anything that had happened. He kept seeing the wolf. Moony had never scared him when he was in his Animagus form, but as a human, the wolf was terrible. He kept seeing Snape, too, scared, then angry.  
  
He'd wanted to talk to Sirius after the incident, but the look on Remus' face had stopped him. He still wanted to talk to Sirius, but he knew Remus was right: Snape could have been killed and Remus expelled. Sirius had betrayed them and told their secret.  
  
It had been three weeks before the end of term when Sirius had told Snape where to look for the werewolf. He hadn't spoken to Sirius since then and was thoroughly bored of it.  
  
Sirius couldn't have been out for murder, could he?  
  
*  
  
'I wish they were all dead.'  
  
'Don't be stupid, Sirius.'  
  
'Don't you be stupid, Prongs. Their ambition in life seems to be to make mine as crap as possible. Now you're in the bloody Hospital Wing because of them.'  
  
'Well it's not like we've never got them with anything.'  
  
'James, there were five of them, against one of you! We've done some nasty stuff, but never this bad. I could kill them.'  
  
'Don't, Padfoot.' James hated Snape as much as Sirius did, but he also hated the cold tone and how serious Sirius was being. It just seemed to heartless, so. Slytherin.  
  
*  
  
James sipped the hot chocolate he had made, trying to think of anything but Sirius. He wondered about his mother, as she was the first thing he thought of. She was the same as always: ill, but claiming to be fine. She was in Diagon Alley with his dad; they'd left James to amuse himself. They did most days, actually. It did get a bit boring, after a while, but Godric's Hollow was big enough for James to mess around in.  
  
Suddenly there was an incredibly sharp knock on the door. James jumped. Who could it be? The Muggles in the village rarely came to Godric's Hollow and his parents hadn't been expecting any visitors.  
  
He turned the knob inserted in the wall by the door, to create the shield: you never knew who it could be.  
  
He opened the door and gaped: it was Sirius' mother. She shot him a look of disgust, mixed with hatred.  
  
'Where is he?' she demanded.  
  
'Excuse me?' said James, as politely he could manage.  
  
'Where are you hiding him?'  
  
'Hiding who?'  
  
'Who do you think? Where is Sirius?'  
  
'Listen, I really have no idea what you're talking about. Where would he be?'  
  
'Tell me where he is, or you'll regret it!' she snapped, brandishing her wand.  
  
'I think you should explain what's going on or you'll regret it,' said James, coldly. 'The door is shielded: anything you do to me will bounce back on you. I can easily activate wards to stop you from going anywhere, or hex you from here. Do you think I'm stupid? Where is Sirius?'  
  
'I don't know,' she replied, with dignity, realising that what James said was probably true. 'He left.'  
  
'When?' said James, incredulous.  
  
'About three days ago,' she said.  
  
'Why are you only looking now?'  
  
'He's run before, and always come back when he ran out of places to go. He'll come here! I know it! Do you think I'm stupid?'  
  
'Well it's not like my parents'll want anyone from *your* family staying here,' replied James, rudely. It was true: they wouldn't. Of course, what they wanted didn't always take first precedence.  
  
Mrs Black gave him a very suspicious look.  
  
'He's my son,' she said. 'He will be coming back.' She then turned and stalked off, until she was outside the wards and could disapparate.  
  
James headed back inside, and collapsed onto the sofa. He appreciated a joke as well as the next man, more than some people, in fact, but what had happened with Snape was not funny, and neither was this. Mrs Black had said that Sirius had left home before, but three days was a long time. Where was he staying?  
  
James dimly remembered telling Sirius, over three years ago, that if he needed a place to stay then he was welcome at Godric's Hollow. More at the front of his memory was the fact that he hadn't spoken to Sirius in weeks.  
  
He felt guilty, even more so than normal. He suddenly jumped to his feet, and ran upstairs to his room, to send an owl. Sirius was definitely coming to stay with them, it didn't matter how many people he'd tried to kill in the past month: there was no way in hell he was going to live anywhere else. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
Running away from home when you're eight and ten, even if you're serious about it, still seems like a big adventure. When you're sixteen it's much less like that, and more a case of where to go, how to get food and money, and how to get back to Hogwarts. The last two times Sirius had left home he'd been too young to really think about anything like that. Now he was old enough to, and he was deeply regretting the loss of his childish assumption that everything would be OK.  
  
He wouldn't go back. He couldn't. He didn't think he'd be able to survive much longer under that roof. He hated everything about the house, and everything about its occupants.  
  
If only he hadn't lost his temper with Snape. Then he'd still have his friends, and his family wouldn't have been even worse.  
  
Despite the fact that Snape had promised not to tell anyone, the vague details had got back to his parents and they'd been furious. He'd honestly thought that they couldn't get worse, but they had done.  
  
He winced at the memory. They'd never physically attacked him before, but his mother had whacked him round the head before dragging him to his room, placing the silencing charm on him, and locking him in, in the dark. He got little food and only one chance to use the bathroom every day.  
  
Confined in the dark, and unable to talk, he'd felt hopeless, more so than ever, but he'd set about working at Finite Incantatem, without the use of his voice. Finally, he'd been able to free himself.  
  
He was free, all right, free meant cold, hungry, damp and ill. Despite a reasonable skill at conjuring, and the ability to turn into a dog, who could catch rats and other creatures, he still went hungry. And he'd definitely got some sort of flu.  
  
He still felt free, more so than he'd felt in a long time. He'd got away and he was determined not to go back.  
  
It was getting dark, so he stopped and hid in a bush in a park, trying to get some sleep. He was looking for the Leaky Cauldron, he had been since he'd left. He could Floo to James' house and get some help. He hadn't spoken to James in ages, although it was all his own fault, but he felt that James would, at least, be willing to lend him a few Galleons.  
  
'Who the fuck are you?' grunted a voice, above him. Sirius opened his eyes and peered up. He made out what appeared to be two boys who looked slightly younger than him.  
  
'I could ask you the same question,' he said. 'But I won't because it's none of my business. And the same goes for you.'  
  
'What the fuck are you doing here?' Thick, thick as bricks, these two were. Such a large vocabulary, too.  
  
'I'm talking to a couple of gorillas,' he replied, irritably.  
  
'Who the fuck are you calling gorillas?'  
  
'You. And must you insert "the fuck" into every single one of your sentences?'  
  
'Are you calling us gorillas?' demanded the second, in a threatening tone of voice.  
  
'I thought we'd established that,' said Sirius, wearily. And he got to his feet. He was almost a head taller than the tallest of the two. The sudden uncertainty on their faces was comic. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I'll leave to two *alone*.' The jibe wasn't exactly subtle, but neither of them got it.  
  
He headed out of the park and into the street again. There was no point in hanging around there any more.  
  
He headed into an alley to get a bit of rest. He was too tired to keep going.  
  
In the morning, an owl was sitting on his arm. He eyed it warily, before recognizing it: it was James's! Eagerly, he took the letter and read:  
  
Padfoot!  
  
Where the hell are you? Your mum came this morning and wanted to know where you were! Get here right now, I don't care where you are or what you're doing: you're staying here. I'm sorry about the whole not-talking-to-you thing. Just hurry up!  
  
Prongs  
  
Sirius smiled. The owl didn't exactly help him in anyway, where did James think he'd been trying to get to? And why apologise? Sirius had been the one who'd completely messed up.  
  
'Hey, Froggy?' he said, to the owl. 'Could you show me where I can find the Leaky Cauldron?' The owl didn't respond, but it didn't take off and leave, which Sirius took to be a good sign. He got to his feet. 'Point your beak in the right direction, and make sure it's a way I can walk, not the way you can fly.'  
  
Two hours and a few sets of excited children ("Mummy! Can we stroke the owl!? Please!") later, Sirius and Froggy arrived at the outside of the Leaky Cauldron. Froggy took off and Sirius entered the pub by himself, feeling quite nervous. Fortunately, no one he knew was in there, and he was able to Floo straight to Godric's Hollow.  
  
James was sitting by the fire, doing nothing. His parents were out again. He'd been messing with the Floo security and accidentally-on purpose changed it so others could get in. He was watching it to make sure no one unwelcome found their way in.  
  
Sirius shot out the fire and James instantly changed the spells back to how they should have been, before turning to his friend. Sirius looked pale, and exhausted.  
  
'Sirius! How are you? Do you want some food or something? Or do you want to change? You've run away from home before? When?' Sirius laughed, softly, then looked serious again.  
  
'James, about the thing last term, I'm so sorry for screwing up. I just lost my temper. Snape was just insulting you guys and stuff. He guessed, too, I think, and I just cracked.'  
  
James at down next to Sirius.  
  
'We'll write to Moony later,' he said, smiling and putting his arms around Sirius. 'You need sorting out first, all right?' Sirius smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing, and leaning on James, feeling a lot safer than he'd felt in ages. James forgave him, at least. And he had somewhere to stay. He dimly registered that James must have been worried: he normally got incredibly embarrassed by the smallest display of affection. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
They sat still for some time, James left his arms around his friend, who seemed to be half asleep already. He was glad that he and Sirius were friends again, more glad that it had been an accident.  
  
'Padfoot,' he muttered. 'Don't fall asleep on me, I'm not a pillow you know.' Sirius laughed, softly.  
  
'Good thing too,' he muttered. 'If you were one, you'd be rubbish, you fidget like mad.' James poked him in the ribs.  
  
'Come on, wake up,' he said, pulling his arms away and standing up, slightly embarrassed by the whole contact thing. Sirius pulled himself to his feet, too.  
  
'I'm tired,' he said, with a small smile. 'And hungry, and very damp.'  
  
'I noticed the dampness,' said James, gesturing that Sirius had got him wet, too, then he looked away. He wasn't usually the type to hug people. Unlike Sirius.  
  
'Is poor likkle Jamesy *embarrassed*?' said Sirius laughing.  
  
'Oh be quiet, you sound like a five year old,' said James. Sirius grinned.  
  
'Don't like hugging boys, do you?' asked Sirius, then he threw his arms around James, clamping his hands to his sides.  
  
'Argh! Get. off you. maniac!' demanded James. 'I thought you were cold. and hungry and. tired.'  
  
'I am,' said Sirius, still laughing, and he let go of James. 'Where're we going?'  
  
'My room: you need some clean clothes and a shower, you stink.' Sirius gave him a mock offended look, but followed him anyway. He'd never been to James' house before, so he was trying to look in all directions.  
  
It was a lot bigger than his own house, and a lot nicer all around. The whole atmosphere was friendly and the portraits all seemed nice: none of them screamed, or swore. Well, the picture just outside of James' room swore a lot, but in a friendly way.  
  
'That was Bowman Wright,' said James, as he shut the door. 'He invented the Golden Snitch, an ancestor of mine. Lovely chap: does nothing but swear. Mum and dad hate him, apparently he's a bad influence on me. But he won't be moved.'  
  
James' room was large, with a four poster bed and lots of floor space.  
  
'Remarkably tidy in here,' said Sirius, drily. He'd seen his friend's dormitory at school.  
  
'We have a house elf,' said James, with a shrug. 'Unlike the ones at Hogwarts, she feels the need to clean away all my rubbish. Sit,' he added, pushing Sirius onto his bed. 'Stay.'  
  
'Shut up.' James ignored him and went to search for various things in his drawers.  
  
'Here's a towel, and another one, and you can have third if you want,' he said, laughing. 'I didn't know I had so many.' He pulled out some clothes and threw them over too. 'They might be a bit small,' he said. 'But you can hold your breath, can't you? Bathroom's in there, I take it you know how to work a shower?'  
  
'You have a bathroom with your bedroom?' said Sirius, impressed. James blinked, as though the idea of not having one was weird.  
  
'I'll get some food and stuff,' he said. 'Do hurry up a bit. We need to talk.'  
  
'You make it sound as though you're breaking up with me,' said Sirius, with a smirk, as he disappeared into the bathroom. James mouthed something rude after him, before heading downstairs to sort out some food.  
  
After having and shower and pulling on James' too small clothes, Sirius headed out into James' bedroom again. James was sitting in front of the fire, he'd brought up some food. He handed Sirius a cup with a rather suspicious looking liquid in the bottom.  
  
'Drink,' he demanded.  
  
'What is it?' asked Sirius, taking the cup, gingerly and sniffing it. 'Pepperup Potion? No way. No way in hell.'  
  
'Yes way. I'm not going to let you catch a cold.'  
  
'I'm so glad you care.'  
  
'It's for purely selfish reasons: you catch a cold and I'll have to listen to your whinging, then probably get it myself. Drink.' Sirius gulped it down, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his stomach. James handed him some food and he began to demolish it.  
  
Feeling relaxed, he shifted himself so he was leaning against the bed, and next to James, who gave him a remarkably serious look.  
  
'Why did you run away?'  
  
'I couldn't take it any more. They heard some rumours and stuff about what happened, and they went nuts about it. I'd never have thought they could get worse, but they did. They-' Sirius broke off suddenly, looking pained at the memory.  
  
'When have you run away before?' asked James, deciding not to pursue what had happened any further. Sirius hesitated before answering.  
  
'When I was eight,' he said, slowly. 'I used to be just like how my family wanted, well, maybe a little bit better, but not much. But I used to go out in the streets and mess around and all that. At first all the Muggle kids thought I was a snob, and I hated them because they were Muggles. But we learned that maybe first impressions are wrong, like you and I, in a way. I started to question what my family had told me, and made up my mind that they were wrong.  
  
'Of course, that started arguments, lots of them, because my parents just couldn't deal with it, they had no idea why I had suddenly changed. I was banned from leaving the house. In the end I just decided to leave. So I stayed with a Muggle friend for a couple of nights, then I was found.  
  
'And a couple of years later, when I was allowed to go to Diagon Alley by myself-'  
  
'Allowed?' said James, in disbelief. Sirius grinned.  
  
'Wrong word choice, but I figured out how to, and I met up with lots of people. Different people. People who my parents had always said had been wrong. This only caused more fighting. So I left again, and went to stay with a guy I'd met. He was about twenty five, and a werewolf, but my parents found me after only about a day.'  
  
'You went to stay with a werewolf?' Sirius gave him a wry grin.  
  
'Never been to Remus' house?' he asked.  
  
'Yeah, but I know Remus, he's my age and all that. This guy was twenty-odd. Why did he take you in, anyway?'  
  
'Because I trusted him. Nobody else would have done the same. It would never have worked though, not on full moon nights, anyway.'  
  
'But he was so much older than you?'  
  
'When I'd talked with him, he'd always acted like a parent, well, not like my parents, but, you know. And that was what I wanted, really. I thought because he was a grown up, and a wizard, he could solve my problems better than the Muggle kid could.'  
  
'And he couldn't?'  
  
'What do you think? Poor guy, he didn't have a job and he had no hope of getting one. He had problems of his own, without my help. Nobody trusts werewolves.'  
  
'Is that why you were OK when you heard Remus was one?'  
  
'Why I wasn't going to blackmail you lot, you mean?' James looked slightly uncomfortable with the directness of the statement. 'Well, that's what I imagine you would have expected, me being a slimy Slytherin and all.'  
  
'You remember our lesson on werewolves, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, don't you?'  
  
'What, the one where you and Peter made arses of yourselves in front of Remus? And then he proved me wrong.'  
  
'Huh?'  
  
'I thought the only three people in the class who didn't hate them would be me, and the two Muggle-borns. And I do remember that lesson well, not that arguing with you made it different from any other lesson we had together.' James laughed, and lent his head on Sirius' shoulder, surprising Sirius for the second time that day.  
  
'Don't you miss the good old days, Padfoot?' he said, laughing.  
  
'Absolutely,' said Sirius, with a straight face. 'There was nothing more fun than winding you up. Still isn't, actually.' 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
When James' parents arrived home a bit later, the two boys exchanged glances and headed down stairs. Sirius was growing worried. He didn't know James' parents; they had no reason to keep him. They only had what James had said, and, from what Sirius had heard, they seemed to think he was a bad influence.  
  
'Mum, dad,' said James. 'Can Sirius come and live with us?' Ah, the Gryffindor tact.  
  
Mr and Mrs Potter exchanged glances.  
  
'What are you talking about, dear?' asked Mrs Potter.  
  
'He ran away from home, and now he'd living here.'  
  
'Hold on a sec,' said Mr Potter, then he turned to Sirius. 'You ran away from home?'  
  
'I've never got on well with my family,' said Sirius, quietly. 'They're too er. Slytherin for me. They think I'm too much of a Gryffindor.'  
  
'Will they come looking for you? If they did, we'd have no right to keep you, unless you have proof that they're doing something they shouldn't.' Sirius shook his head. 'Have they been?' he nodded. 'Would a Truth Potion.?'  
  
'Er. no, I'm immune.'  
  
'You are?'  
  
'Long story,' typical, bloody typical. A Truth Potion was suggested as the solution to everything, and they didn't even work on him.  
  
In his fourth year, he'd discovered he was strongly allergic to the key ingredient, and some intensive Potion taking for over a year had almost nullified the effects. It had also left him completely resistant.  
  
'Well then what would you say, if they came to claim you?'  
  
'I'd hide,' said Sirius. 'If they found me they'd take me back, I could just say that I was staying for part of the holidays. If you don't mind, that is.' he trailed off, hopeful.  
  
'Just to let you know,' said James, conversationally. 'I have absolutely no intention of ever sending him back to his parents.'  
  
'Oh be quiet, James,' said Sirius. Why be so rude to parents who would care if he died?  
  
'I suppose you can stay,' said Mrs Potter. 'You'll be at Hogwarts most of the year, won't you?'  
  
'You're not a vegetarian, too, are you?' asked Mr Potter in an almost worried tone of voice.  
  
'Er. no,' said Sirius hesitantly. Mr Potter turned to James.  
  
'See, now you're outnumbered three to one.' James pulled a face. Sirius vaguely remembered James saying that he was going vegetarian because his Animagus form was one, or something like that. Peter had then announced that he was going to eat nothing but rubbish because of Wormtail's taste in food. James had whacked him around the head. Sirius had decided that being a vegetarian would probably kill him. He had agreed never to eat venison, though.  
  
Later, they ate dinner, and James proved exactly why his father had been worried.  
  
'Is your ground up cow guts nice, then, dad?' he asked, pleasantly.  
  
'Not again, James. And it's minced beef.'  
  
'Yes, but minced beef is ground up cow guts, that were once alive, inside a cow, filled with digested food. Then some farmer came along and hacked the poor little cow to small bloody pieces and ground it up.'  
  
'Yummy,' said Sirius, licking his lips. James looked excessively annoyed that it didn't work on Sirius (both his parents looked as thought they'd lost their appetite).  
  
'Can't you just imagine the cow writhing around-?'  
  
'James,' said Sirius. 'That potato you're eating was once a living breathing plant. Can't you just imagine the brutal way in which the farmer pulled it from the ground, and how horrible cruel it was when it was hacked to small potatoey pieces?'  
  
'Shut up, Sirius.'  
  
'You respect my dinner, and I respect yours,' said Sirius, calmly. James rolled his eyes, and was silent. His parents looked incredibly surprised.  
  
'Er. moving on,' said Mrs Potter. 'What have you got with you, Sirius?'  
  
'Er. my wand, and some robes, which are wet and dirty.'  
  
'Your school stuff?'  
  
'In my room at home. I doubt my parents will have got to it.' What he meant by that was that he'd locked them in, using a rather complex password spell.  
  
'Right, well, you'll have to get that somehow, unless it's really impossible.' Sirius grimaced at the thought.  
  
'I. think I can get it,' he said slowly. The idea of going back to that house was awful, but he had all his stuff there. James kicked him softly from across the table, and gave a supportive smile, probably sensing how Sirius felt.  
  
'Good, good, well, we'll need to get you some Muggle clothes, of course. Some that fit,' she eyed the clothes he was wearing, critically. 'We're living in a Muggle village, here, you see, and I expect you'll want to get outside a bit, so you need Muggle things.' Sirius nodded. 'Is tomorrow morning good for you? I can take you shopping, and drag James along, too,' then she turned to her husband. 'You are going to go to work and not freak out about the thought of me outside the house, is that clear?' Mr Potter was looking slightly worried, but he nodded anyway. 'Excellent. Now, what's for dessert?'  
  
After dinner, feeling incredibly full, Sirius headed back up to James' room. The House Elf followed them, to magic up a bed for Sirius. They'd agreed to both go in James' room, as they never got to in term time.  
  
Sirius bounced on James' four poster, while James wandered around, moving things around and poking things with his wand. Sirius decided he was probably hiding all the booze he had in his room, so it would never be found and stolen by Sirius. After a while, he joined Sirius in bouncing on the bed.  
  
'Fun, isn't it?' said Sirius, grinning, then lying down.  
  
'You've broken all my springs, I bet. Why can't you bounce on your own?'  
  
'Because I'd break the springs,' he said, grinning. 'I'm sure there's some magical way of fixing it.'  
  
'Move over,' said James, attempting to push him off, before lying down himself. 'My bed.'  
  
'Mine now,' said Sirius, in a baby voice, turning away from James and pretending to fall asleep. James poked him, repeatedly. 'Bugger off,' he said, not turning around.  
  
'Padfoot.?' asked James.  
  
'You're using that evil tone of voice, the one that means you're going to ask a nasty question.'  
  
'I was just going to ask how you wanted to get back to your house to get your things. And if you need my help.'  
  
'You'd come?' he said, slightly surprised.  
  
'Don't be daft, of course I would. I shall be better prepared than I was last time. How do you want to do it, without getting you killed?'  
  
'I'd rather not,' said Sirius, quietly. 'I'd go anywhere on the planet but there, given a choice. Azkaban. the middle of the desert with no water.' James shifted himself, so he was closer to his friend, and put an arm around him. 'What happened to you then, Jamesy? Have you suddenly decided it's not too gay to come within a metre of a male?' James poked him.  
  
'Don't change the subject, I was attempting to be nice, but that's just lost on you, isn't it, Padfoot?' Sirius shifted around, so he was facing James again.  
  
'You are so easy to tease it's unbelievable,' he said.  
  
'Your breath smells of ice cream,' replied James, poking his tongue out.  
  
'Not ground up cow intestine, then?' asked Sirius, quietly, with a grin.  
  
'Well now that you mention it.' said James, laughing, suddenly realizing how close they were. It was kind of weird, but he didn't pull away, for a change. It was sort of nice, in a way, not thinking about how embarrassing it was.  
  
Of course, when Sirius lent in and gave him the briefest peck on the lips, he shot backwards like it had been an electric shock. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
'What did you do that for?' he asked, looking excessively freaked out. Sirius was almost entirely unconcerned by his reaction, after all, it certainly wasn't the stupidest thing he'd ever done and been forgiven for.  
  
'I don't know,' he said, with a grin and a shrug. 'It seemed like the right thing to do.'  
  
'But. but.' James, apparently, could think of no reasonable reply to this, and was reduced to stuttering.  
  
'Besides,' he said, leaning back on the bed, relaxedly. 'If you can't snog your best mate, who can you snog?'  
  
'That wasn't a snog,' said James, nervously. Sirius sat up again, a teasing grin on his face.  
  
'You know, you're right,' he said, leaning forward to his friend again. He laughed at the look on James' face. 'Don't worry, Prongs, I won't. Unless you want me to, of course,' he added, winking.  
  
'Sirius,' said James. 'Just how many boys have you snogged?' Sirius pretended to count off on his fingers, mouthing names, James was looking less worried, and more curious now.  
  
'None,' he said proudly, after counting ten on his fingers. James whacked him.  
  
'Idiot.'  
  
'Why's that?' James rolled his eyes and then said something he guessed he'd regret for the rest of his life then.  
  
'All right then, I'll give you one name to count off.' Sirius looked rather surprised, but James leaned in, anyway.  
  
Apart from the sheer weirdness of the situation, the main thought that crossed Sirius' mind was that James was actually a pretty good kisser. He put his arms around the other boy to pull him closer. When their lips parted, he remained holding onto him.  
  
'That was. different,' said James, slowly. He broke eye contact, and looked over his friend's right shoulder instead. He didn't pull away, instead he put his own arms around Sirius.  
  
Sirius lent in again, and kissed James' forehead.  
  
'I'm trying to think,' said James, poking him in a back.  
  
'First for everything,' remarked Sirius.  
  
'Old joke, mate, old joke,' replied James.  
  
'OK, well what is there to think about? At least have the politeness to think aloud, I'm not a mind reader.'  
  
'You act like it sometimes,' said James. He pulled away from Sirius, suddenly and went to sit by the fire in his room.  
  
'It's not connected to the Floo, is it?'  
  
'Only to get out,' said James.  
  
'So what were you thinking?'  
  
'You're not going to let up, are you?' Sirius shook his head, and got off the bed and onto the floor, next to James. 'Fine,' he began again. 'I was thinking that that wasn't the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but if we were to try and continue anything, it would work at Hogwarts.' Sirius found himself happy at the idea that James even considered continuing anything.  
  
'Just think of it,' he said, slowly. 'As part of being friends.'  
  
'What, your wonderful if-you-can't-snog-your-best-friend-who-can-you-snog logic?'  
  
'Absolutely,' said Sirius, leaning in and kissing him on the forehead again. 'That is, if you want to.' he said, the familiar teasing grin in place on his face. 'I know how you are about coming anywhere near me-' James whacked him.  
  
'You're annoying.'  
  
'I know, but I must be doing something right, right?'  
  
'You wish.'  
  
'Then you obviously have awful taste in friends.' He wasn't going to say "men" or "partners", "friends" sounded so much better.  
  
'What are you going to do about Charlie?' Charlotte was in the year below them and had half a relationship with Sirius, while he liked her, she wasn't bothered, but tolerated him. They also fought a lot.  
  
'Well,' said Sirius, thoughtfully. 'We were broken up at the end of term, but knowing her and her evil ways, she'll want to get back together, soon. I dunno. I still like her, I think.'  
  
'If it's part of being friends,' said James. 'Then you two can keep going out, it's not like it's cheating or anything. Providing you don't complain about Evans.' Sirius laughed. Most people when they had a crush on someone, would deny it completely, James made it incredibly obvious, it just didn't seem to embarrass him that much.  
  
Sirius put an arm around him again, and leant his head on James' shoulder.  
  
'You should give up on her,' he said. 'She'll never go out with you, not in a million years.'  
  
'You should give up on Charlie, she's only with you for a few snogs, and so she can show off to her mates that you'd do anything to stay with her.'  
  
'I like her.'  
  
'She uses you completely.' Sirius pulled a face. He had never been under the impression that James liked his girlfriend, in fact, this particular lecture was one he practically knew by heart.  
  
'I still like her.'  
  
'Delusional and mental.'  
  
'So Evans is much better? You're not even going out and you still do everything she asks. "Stop torturing Snape, Potter!" "OK Evans." "Buy me twenty Christmas Presents, Potter!" "Why not twenty three?"'  
  
'Shut up, I'm not *that* bad . . . am I?'  
  
'Yes, absolutely.'  
  
'Tell you what, I'll forget Evans, if you get rid of Charlie.' Sirius pulled a face, he wasn't *that* keen to get rid of Evans.  
  
*  
  
He was up early the next morning, he always was. Mrs Potter was up to, but James slept in for as long as he could.  
  
'I'll wake him up later, so we can take him shopping, he probably needs a new something. He wears out stuff twice as quickly as everyone else.' Sirius nodded, vaguely.  
  
'What's the village like?' he asked.  
  
'Too small to find anything for you. We're taking the bus to find some bigger shops. There's not a lot there, and the families are rather intimidated by us, mainly because of the size of the house, and the fact that we don't mix much. Well, James does, he's made a few Muggle friends there.'  
  
After waking James up and persuading him to get ready, the three of them set off to find the bus. Sirius had never used one before, not even the Knight Bus, but it turned out to be cramped and dirty. Mrs Potter chatted to one of the ladies at the front, and James and Sirius sat at the back.  
  
Mrs Potter was incredibly generous with buying clothes for him, he got far more than enough, and nothing he said could persuade her that he wouldn't need that many things. James got quite a bit too, though he didn't complain. Seeing his mother buy him anything he wanted, Sirius realised that James was probably a lot more spoilt than he acted at school.  
  
They got the bus back, and the two boys headed to James' room, to plot how they'd get Sirius' Hogwarts things. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Friends Are The Family That You Choose Yourself  
  
Summary: It's impossible for Sirius to get away from his family and their influence. There's only so far he can run, with no where to hide The only person he feels he can trust no longer trusts him. But he has nowhere else to go. Fourth in a series.  
  
Rating: PG-13, I think, possibly PG.  
  
Disclaimer: The characters and situations mostly belong to J.K.Rowling who is nice enough to let us screw with her universe. I'm making no profit, though I wish I was.  
  
Author's Notes: Fourth in the Nothing Is Impossible series. Warning: contains J/S slash. This is also my first postable attempt at slash so I'd appreciate crit, but preferably nice crit *grins*. Please read and review!  
  
~*~  
  
'Ready, Sirius?' asked James.  
  
'As ready as I'm going to be,' Sirius replied, dryly. James squeezed his friend's hand.  
  
'You sure your parents will be out?'  
  
'Stop worrying, you're acting serious. And don't even think about using that pun.' James grinned.  
  
'See you in a bit,' he said, kissing Sirius lightly on the cheek, before his friend headed into the fire.  
  
'Twelve Grimmauld Place,' said Sirius, and felt himself being pulled away. Away from Godric's Hollow, where he felt safe, and back to his old home. He landed in the kitchen. He remembered it, of course, but he'd adjusted so easily to life with the Potters that it didn't seem to be his home anymore.  
  
Regulus was there, and he looked thoroughly shocked.  
  
'Hello, Reg,' said Sirius, as pleasantly as he could. He pulled out his wand. 'Don't try anything. Is anyone else home?'  
  
'W-what are you doing here?' demanded the younger boy, looking quite scared. Sirius, with his sense of fairness, had never turned his wand on Regulus before: it seemed wrong to attack a kid a few years younger than you.  
  
'I've come to get my stuff, Reg, how am I supposed to get back to Hogwarts if I don't have my books and robes?'  
  
'What the hell are you wearing?' Sirius almost laughed. Muggle clothes still seemed odd, to him, but Regulus looked as though he was insane.  
  
'Are you home alone?' he demanded, waving his wand, threateningly. Regulus nodded, mutely.  
  
Sirius supposed that was a consolation, at least. The fact that Regulus was there meant asking James to come wouldn't work. They'd agreed that Sirius would get everyone out of the kitchen, before sending James a signal. Sirius had privately decided not to bother. James would be pissed, but there was no chance Sirius' mother would turn up and go for him.  
  
'Come on, Reg, up you get,' he said, waving his wand, gold sparks emerged.  
  
'What?' asked Reg, sounding nervous.  
  
'To your room, I can't have you around calling mum and dad while I get my things, can I?' Regulus looked as though he wasn't going to move. 'Fine then, I can stun you, easy enough.' Regulus got to his feet. Little coward, thought Sirius as he led his younger brother, at wand point, to his room, and locked him in.  
  
He felt incredibly guilty, remembering what it was like to be locked in his room. He also felt like a bit of a bully, at the same time.  
  
He headed to his room, and unlocked the door. His things were untouched: using three different passwords and other locking spells had worked. He packed magically, but untidily, before levitating it down to the kitchen.  
  
He'd just closed the door to the hall, when he heard his parents in the hall.  
  
He could hear his heart beating, and feel the surge of adrenaline.  
  
'Regulus! Where are you?' yelled his mother. 'We've got some things for you!'  
  
Sirius heard a muffled yell, but couldn't make it out, and neither could his mother.  
  
'What was that? Come down here!' she yelled back.  
  
Heart beating rapidly, Sirius crept over to the fire place, and threw some Floo powder in.  
  
'Godric's Hollow,' he whispered, urgently.  
  
James was getting slightly worried: Sirius had agreed to come back for him. What if he'd run into trouble? He just had a nagging feeling that all would not be well. When his friend reappeared, carrying his trunk, but white faced and sweating slightly, James breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
'Were your parents.?' he asked, pulling Sirius and his trunk out of the fire so he could reactivate the shielding spells on it.  
  
'First my brother. I locked him in his room and grabbed the stuff. But my mother arrived back just as I was in the kitchen. She didn't see me but-'  
  
'-You got incredibly freaked out,' finished James, a slight grimace, on his face. 'Don't worry, Padfoot, you've as good at said goodbye to that place forever now. You'll never need to go back.'  
  
Sirius nodded, relieved, and James slung and arms around his shoulders.  
  
'Come on,' said Sirius, eventually. 'Let's get my stuff up to your room.'  
  
'Not just mine,' said James, grinning. 'Yours too, now. You have no choice in the matter.'  
  
'Bossy.'  
  
The two of them hauled the trunk to James' room (Sirius doubted he could ever think of it as being his), then collapsed onto James' bed.  
  
'Your trunk is too bloody heavy,' announced James.  
  
'The walk to your room is too bloody long,' countered Sirius. 'Why couldn't we just use magic?'  
  
'Sirius, you're turning seventeen in August.'  
  
'Well you're only a few days away. Besides, I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind.'  
  
'Want to bet? Last time I did underage magic, they nearly killed me.'  
  
'When was this?'  
  
'Er. I was about seven and I nicked my dad's wand and used it for. various things.'  
  
'Do I want to know what you're talking about?' mused Sirius.  
  
'Probably not,' said James, with a laugh. 'But keep in mind, Padfoot, that I was *seven* so whatever your sick mind comes up with: tone it down. Unlike you: I wasn't born a pervert.'  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes.  
  
'As I've said before: I must have some redeeming qualities, or you'd whack me if I did this.' he leaned in and kissed James.  
  
'Did I say being perverted wasn't a redeeming quality?' asked James, with a grin, after they broke apart. 'I don't remember that.'  
  
'What would Remus and Peter say if we told them?' asked Sirius, suddenly, and James sat up abruptly.  
  
'Remus and Peter! They still hate you. And they're coming to stay for my birthday. Shit! Maybe we should write a note and warn them that you're here and we're all going to get along.'  
  
'Maybe later,' murmured Sirius, slipping his arms around James and kissing his neck. 'I have plenty of Iother/I concerns right now.'  
  
'Oh?' said James, innocently, turning to face Sirius. 'Anything that involves me?'  
  
'Got it in one, Prongs,' came the reply, before he kissed James again, slipping his arms around his friend. 


End file.
